If you are like me, then fantasy novels are what you gravitate towards. I am always looking for a new fantasy world to explore and luckily for me, there are tons of fantasy books out there. That made me think of the best fantasy books which is why I decided to create a list of the 25 best fantasy books of all time.
Nothing will beat timeless classics like The Lord of the Rings and His Dark Materials. But lucky for us, we are always seeing a few great fantasy novels being released here and there. The future of fantasy novels looks bright and I am glad that that is the case. You can check out the full list below.
The 25 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
- The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
- A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
- Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
- Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
- The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
- Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
- The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
- The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
- The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
- Fawkes by Nadine Brandes
- Storm Front by Jim Butcher
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Watership Down by Richard Adams
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
- The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
- The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Classics and Then Some
If you haven’t read the classics like The Hobbit or Watership Down, then what are you waiting for? Start there and make your way into more modern fantasy novels. Authors like Neil Gaiman and Erin Morgenstern have written modern classics and are two authors that you should check out.
Robert Jordan’s Eye of the World and The Wheel of Time series is highly regarded. It is a long series with 14 novels so if you want a long adventure that’s going to span a year or more, here you go. Other recent classics include Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson and The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.
Honorable Mentions
Even with 25 books, I am still sad to leave off a few books. Six of Crow by Leigh Bardugo is an amazing book in a duology. Her other series Shadow and Bone is also worth checking out. Neil Gaiman has a few other great novels that I think are even better than American Gods. And Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward and Steelheart are underrated books.
Conclusion
I am sure that I am still forgetting a few books but that’s just how these things go. That wraps up our 25 best fantasy books of all-time list. What books should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!
The “Elric” books by Michael Moorcock.
Also, the “Drenai” series by the late David Gemmell.
Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber
If you haven’t put The Worm Orobouros and Mistress of Mistresses in the list, there is no list.
Hi Ahaqir, thank you for your list. I find it very helpful and inspiring. However, I think that a game of thrones has no right to appear in the list. The reason in my opinion: because george r.r. martin didn’t finish the series until today and let his fans wait for it for years. Instead, he sold them out to the film adaptation.
I see your point but it doesn’t take away from his novels. It is frustrating as a reader waiting for the books for this long. The same way I don’t discredit Harry Potter because of J.K. Rowling’s controversy, I don’t hold anything Martin does or doesn’t do towards his books.
George RR Martin owes you nothing. He wrote 5 incredible novels in the series. With realistically one more to come.
Great list. Authors like C.S. Lewis and Tolkien had Phantastes by George MacDonald (1824-1905) on their short lists. Indeed, Lewis credits the book, which he first read at age 16, with re-directing his creative arc. Later, he said he didn’t think he had written anything without borrowing from MacDonald, who has been called the “grandfather of modern science fiction”.
Only a person who has never read Discworld would put “Colour Of Magic” on this list
Too much Sanderson on this list. Mistborn is mediocre.
No Gene Wolfe? Moorcock?
I would put Magician by Raymond E Feist in my top 25
Little, Big by John Crowley deserves a mention.
Absolutely. Also, seriously? Brandon Sanderson but no Lewis Carroll? No Michael Moorcock? No Roger Zelazny?
Mervyn Peake? Terry Brookes? Piers Anthony? Stephen R. Donaldson?
The Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia belongs on the list.
The Fifth Season doesn’t belong on the list. It’s an absolutely boring story.
No moorcock, no Lieber?
You are missing Doris Lessing’s ‘Canopus in Argos’ series of five books.
The Grey Mane of Morning (Joy Chant)
I have to say, The Darkness that Comes Before is one of the best works of fiction, fantasy or otherwise. that’s at the top of my list.
Your leaving off LEGENDARY Authors and their books of your list like:
In no particular order:
Raymond E Feist Magician
David Eddings Belgariad, Mallorean Series books.
Terry Brooks: Sword of Shannara
Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant Trilogy.
Pier’s Anthony’s Xanth’s books.
Anne Mc Caffrey’s Dragon, Pern books
Robert Howard’s CONAN books
Marrion Zimmer Bradley.
Bradbury.
Andre Norton
These, those books are TIMELESS CLASSICS, that have VIDEO GAMES, MOVIES, CULTURE, BOARD games, RPG games, etc, of, about, on them, or based on them.
Any every top fantasy book list, without them is either incomplete, or a Joke, or both.
Your leaving off LEGENDARY Authors and their books of your list like:
In no particular order:
Raymond E Feist Magician
David Eddings Belgariad, Mallorean Series books.
Terry Brooks: Sword of Shannara
Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant Trilogy.
Pier’s Anthony’s Xanth’s books.
Anne Mc Caffrey’s Dragon, Pern books
Robert Howard’s CONAN books
Marrion Zimmer Bradley.
Bradbury.
Andre Norton
These, those books are TIMELESS CLASSICS, that have VIDEO GAMES, MOVIES, CULTURE, BOARD games, RPG games, etc, of, about, on them, or based on them.
Any every top fantasy book list, without them is either incomplete, or a Joke, or both.
Yeah, a terrible list missing so many true classics. The Amber Chronicles, the Black Company books, the Magicians series.
It kinda disturbs me that all these so called best of lists miss many of the legends in fantasy.
Piers Anthony
Terry Brooks
Andre Norton
Oh and some unknown obscure writer by the name of Stephen King.
Seriously pathetic.